25, FRANCES ROAD

Reasons for Designation

25 Frances Road is designated for the following principal reasons:

* A substantially intact and decorative late C19 house in the Domestic Revival style. * An unusual plan for a modest detached house responding to its triangular plot. * Evidence for the quality of craftsmanship and use of materials in both the exterior and interior finishes.

Details

747/0/10018 FRANCES ROAD 28-OCT-08 25

II Detached house in a Domestic Revival style of 1888 by Thomas Edgington, architect, for himself. C20 alterations and additions.

MATERIALS: Red and yellow brick with tile hanging and tile roofs.

PLAN: Broadly triangular occupying the corner plot between Frances Road and Grove Road. Two storeys. C20 additions and alterations to west and south.

EXTERIOR: An ornamental building employing diaper work, tile hanging, decorative barge boards, finials and terracotta and brick plaques to enliven the exterior. Main elevation to north takes advantage of its street corner position, which is of three bays and two storeys and tile hung at first floor level. Two gabled bays with decorative barge boards either side of the central entrance bay which has a gabled dormer. Access through a handsome panelled front door with a pair of integral glazed arched lights with replacement glass (formerly of stained glass) flanked by stained glass windows. These have moulded brick drip moulds with stone shield label stops. West and east facades are similar to each other with tile hanging to the first floor and diaper work below. External chimney stack to the west elevation. Plainer rear block in yellow brick which is contemporary but to which a modern conservatory has been added. Further C20 additions and alterations to the south-west where the former service area has been modified for modern needs but these are not of special interest. Side and rear windows are varied in form including flat brick, canted and arched brick heads and brick or stone cills. Windows to the main, north façade are more consistent and are mainly timber casements of several lights with projecting timber surrounds to the upper floors. From the south garden side the curious triangular shape of the house and plot is evident presenting an interesting roofscape including decorative chimneys. Late C20 alterations have incorporated former outbuildings, such as the coal shed, into the accommodation and there is a C20 extension to the west and a conservatory added to the south; all of these late C20 works are of lesser interest.

INTERIOR: House entered from the north into a triangular hallway with an attractive tiled floor. Original timber staircase with solid carved newel posts and turned balusters. Both hall and upstairs landing have an attractive sequence of shallow arches leading through to the rooms beyond. Bedroom ceilings are also of a curved profile. The interior retains many of its original features despite having been sympathetically modernised. Many ground floor rooms have simple moulded cornices and deep skirting boards with boarded wooden floors. There is evidence for former gas lamp fittings. Most fireplaces survive with fire surrounds in a variety of materials; some are tile decorated or have decorative ironwork, and that to the music room is unusual in being of brick and tile and leaning more in style towards the Arts & Crafts movement. Large cast iron range to the former kitchen and an adjacent pantry with tiled floor. Windows and doors are largely original with surviving window and door furniture including decorative brass handles and finger plates. Late C19 built-in cupboards to some bedrooms.

SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: Partial survival of original paved brick surface to narrow front garden. Decorative low brick wall, contemporary with the house, in the form of a pierced balustrade with matching gate piers at the junction of the two roads where a pedestrian gate allows access.

HISTORY: 25 Frances Road dates to 1888 and was designed by the architect Thomas Edgington for himself. The date is confirmed by a tri-partite decorative plaque to the right hand-side of the front door. This area of Windsor was first developed in the later C19. The house was passed down through the family with very little alteration until the early 1970s when it was sold and then subject to some modernisation. Thomas Edgington (born 1820) came to Windsor in 1852 and established the architectural firm of Edgington & Son in the town in 1856. Commissions included work at Windsor Castle. Herbert Spink and Reginald Hyne became partners in 1907 and 1955 respectively with the practice subsequently renamed Edgington Spink Hyne as it remains today. In the early C20 the practice gained a reputation for high quality brick buildings including a number of banks and public houses and there are many examples of such work in East Berkshire in particular; the former Barclays Bank at Packhorse Road, Gerrards Cross (1911-12) is listed at Grade II.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: 25 Frances Road has been designated in Grade II for the following principal reasons: * A substantially intact and decorative late C19 house in the Domestic Revival style. * An unusual plan for a modest detached house responding to its triangular plot. * Evidence for the quality of craftsmanship and use of materials in both the exterior and interior finishes.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

503410

Legacy System:

LBS

End of official list entry

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